Here comes one of the most important posts of the year, the reading wrap up of the entire year! 2017 for me was pretty great, considering I read 70 books and so many of those books were actually pretty darn good. I did have a few misses but not the worst year, considering I DNF’d only two books, one less than last year. There are a lot of YA romance novels and romance novels in this list because I was pushing myself to finish my reading challenge with easy reads all year. But without any further ado, find out which books I loved, which ones I didn’t and which I felt neutral about!
Goodread links are added to all the titles!
REREADS
I haven’t made any promises to not reread books so I’m not surprised I reread 6 books, and one of them I actually read twice this year. There is just something reassuring about picking up a book you know you are going to enjoy because you’ve already enjoyed it!
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before * 2 / Jenny Han / According to Goodreads I’ve read it 4 times but actually, it’s more like 5. I really love this book and I especially love the hardback signed edition of it! Can’t wait for the movie either, I’m sure I’ll reread it this year as well.
P.S. I Still Love You / Jenny Han / If I’m going to reread the first book in the series, I’m definitely picking up the second.
A Court of Thorns and Roses / Sarah J. Maas / With the third book being released, I Picked up ACOTAR for the third time this year. It was just as good as the first time around.
A Court of Mist and Fury / Sarah J. Maas / I think there’s a theme here. I like to reread books in series before the final book is released.
The Fill-In Boyfriend / Kasie West / I picked this one up in December when the challenge deadline was closing in and I was lacking motivation. This reread was easy, breezy, and great. Especially since I love fake boyfriend storylines.
The D.U.F.F. / Kody Keplinger / Such a shame its movie adaptation lost the one thing that was so empowering about this book, the actual self-sabotaging yet supportive relationship it had. Sure, sex in this can be viewed wrong for all the right reasons, but those reasons for me, are exactly what makes this book actually good. My go to read when I’m feeling down!
JANUARY
The Raven King / Nora Sakavic / Saw this series floating around on bookstagram and thought I’d give it a go. It’s alright but definitely not my cup of tea. The writing style is just a bit too wonky for me.
The King’s Men / Nora Sakavic / Despite not being a fan, I felt like I at least needed to finish it. The plot lines wrapped up weird too, so overall a series that has its flaws but I can see its appeal as well.
The Deal / Elle Kennedy / I continued my January with adult romance series Off Campus and what fun times! All guy characters are great, and The Deal is a fun start to the series that I almost finished in one month.
The Mistake / Elle Kennedy / Out of the three I read from this series I liked this one the least. One of the things that bothered me a little was the unrealistic sexual context.
The Score / Elle Kennedy / Though I liked this one, I stopped with the series with The Score. The ending had some flaws, but it was a funny book so I quite liked it.
Spencer Cohen Book 1 to Book 3 / N. R. Walker / A M+M trilogy that could have been just one book, which is why I’m putting them all together. It’s pretty heavy on sex stuff, and the ending was a little too mushy for my taste, but overall, a decent series.
Bear, Otter, and the Kid / T. J. Klune / I was intrigued to read a book with a gay for you plot, and I wasn’t very disappointed. It was funny, emotional and I liked all the characters.
The Night Circus / Erin Morgenstern / It was an interesting reading experience. I picked it up, put it down for a while, and then when I finally finished it, I liked it a lot. It’s about a traveling circus, and it’s acts are a little magical and special.
Nevernight / Jay Kristoff / First 5-star read of 2017 was this fantasy novel that surprised the hell out of me. At first, I was a little bothered by the footnotes, but around the middle of the book, the footnotes were gone and the story built up to intrigue, action and betrayal. Loved every minute of it!
FEBRUARY
The Hating Game / Sally Thorne / I was waiting for this book forever, and it did not disappoint. Slow burn adult romance, say no more, I’m there and loving it from start to finish!
Kulti / Mariana Zapata / Another slow burn romance, and February seemed to just that. A football coach and a young woman, who plays in the team he coaches – perfect entertainment read!
The Wall of Winnipeg and Me / Mariana Zapata / Zapata writes so well that I picked up another one of her books, and this one had a fake fiancée plot and I loved it!
Managed / Kristen Callihan / The second book in an adult romance series and I was surprised how slow burn it all was! Plus, the leading character was so fun and sarcastic!
MARCH
The Wise Man’s Fear / Patrick Rothfuss / I don’t think I will be able to summarise it with few sentences. My favourite book of the year, a great book for fantasy lovers!
Operation Prom Date / Cindi Madsen / First disappointing read of 2017, I guess, because it was not good at all. At the moment, I don’t even remember what happened, because it’s forgettable.
Bloom: Navigating Life and Style / Estée Lalonde / Autobiographies are such a hit and miss sometimes, but I do enjoy all of them to some degree. Estée is one of my favourite Youtubers, and I enjoyed her book.
The Bad Boy Bargain / Kendra C. Highley / A forgettable YA novel and I’m not sure what it was exactly about.
Ella’s Twisted Senior Year / Amy Sparling / First of the two DNF’s of 2017, very awful. Writing, plot, the rush to push these characters together, too mushy too soon.
Adorkable / Cookie O’Gorman / When you didn’t think I was really serious about those fake relationships well, then, here’s another book that has one. And I quite liked it, the characters were good and it was fun to read.
APRIL
Anna and the French Kiss / Stephanie Perkins / A very controversial book for some, but quite enjoyable for me. It’s just that I don’t mind some of the themes this book has, but I must admit, after reading it, my feelings have cooled down a little.
Lola and the Boy Next Door / Stephanie Perkins / The second book was my overall favourite from the entire series, and probably because it was somehow the most genuine.
My Lady Jane / Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows / This book was such surprise for me that I almost fell out of bed laughing. Funny, weird, and definitely a must for all those who like The Princess Bride.
Isla and the Happily Ever After / Stephanie Perkins / By the time I finished the series, I was less impressed by it. I think the books got progressively more boring, but overall, I did finish the series so there’s that.
Caraval / Stephanie Garber / I was not as impressed with this book than others, because it actually was super confusing to me. The world building didn’t work at all, and I was more bored than I’d like to admit.
Dark Matter / Blake Crouch / What an amazing read! Finished in one sitting, and time travel is most likely my favourite sci-fi plot element!
Alex, Approximately / Jenn Bennett / When I read that it was You Got Mail for teenagers I thought, hell yes, but even though I liked it, I think my expectations were to high to actually love it.
MAY
Always and Forever, Lara Jean / Jenny Han/ I was a little disappointed with the conclusion to my favourite YA series. Mostly because I didn’t like the extra drama, I thought the book would have worked without it. But still, I freaking love this series!
Release / Patrick Ness / Ness is one of my auto-buy authors and I was really looking forward for this one. It was weird though, not sure how I feel about it. Well written though, like always!
The Upside of Unrequited / Becky Alrbetalli / I think she is one of my auto-buy authors as well, but even though I wasn’t the biggest fan of The Upside of Unrequited, I’m still a fan of her writing.
Dating-ish / Penny Reid / I came into an adult series very late, this was the sixth book and it was almost perfect. I have a feeling Reid’s series will improve from this point on, but you’ll see later on, her earlier books in the same series, were not my favourites.
Neanderthal Seeks Human / Penny Reid / After being so impressed by Dating-ish, I was certain I was going to love the first book. It was weird though, the dynamic of the characters was all wrong.
JUNE
Geekerella / Ashley Poston / This was another one of the more popular books from this year that I end up being disappointed in. It’s just, I never seem to connect with the characters in these popular books.
Neanderthal Marries Human / Penny Reid / This series got progressively worse with #1,5 book. The worst type of relationship I’ve ever read about and I just hate read it until the end.
The Lies of Locke Lamora / Scott Lynch / It took me a little to get into it but once I did, I loved it! It’s a very dark and mysterious novel, with many twists and turns along the way, and I can’t wait to continue with this series in 2018.
JULY
It / Stephen King / Well, this was a HUGE book and it took me a month to finish and once I did, I was a little underwhelmed. Sure, a good book, a few questionable moments, but at the end of the day, I expected more.
Dating You, Hating You / Christina Lauren / Second DNF of the year, and honestly, I’m mad at it. It’s a female and male point of view romance novel, and I hate that. Especially since this book annoyed me from the start.
Nobody Is Ever Missing / Catherine Lacey / Picked this one up because of the cover and it disappointed me quite a lot. The main character struggles with depression, but the writing style just doesn’t match with the tone of the book at all.
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue / Mackenzi Lee / What a fun book! The characters, the setting, it was all so refreshing and I was so surprised by it that I ended up loving it!
City of Lost Souls / Cassandra Clare / I started Clare’s Mortal Instruments series a year before and it was time to finish it. I actually started to like books later on in the series, and became a fan of the shadowhunter world.
City of Heavenly Fire / Cassandra Clare / As I said, I was becoming a fan by the end of the series, and I though the final book hit all the marks emotionally! It was super predictable but I’ll forgive it its flaws, especially since Clare continues to improve her writing and plot lines.
AUGUST
Lady Midnight / Cassandra Clare / I wanted to pick up The Dark Artifices series for the longest time, but wanted to finish The Mortal Instruments first. I was so glad I did because oh man, this book was SO GOOD! Loved it and all its drama, all its characters and it was amazing.
SEPTEMBER
Lord of Shadows / Cassandra Clare / It’s not a reflection of the book that I didn’t finish the second book faster, I was just in a weird headspace during August. Anyway, ever since I finished this one, I have been dying to read the third one. Can’t wait until it is released!
History Is All You Left Me / Adam Silvera / It’s an emotional read, with a quite dark opening but I don’t remember much more about it. I guess it just resonate me that well.
Tower of Dawn / Sarah J. Maas / The sixth book of the Throne of Glass series, that does a little time jump back and fills us in what happened to Chaol during the fifth book in the series. This book was great!
OCTOBER
The Queen of the Tearling / Erika Johansen / This book was pretty good, and just when I thought I got this series figured out, it threw me another curveball.
The Invasion of the Tearling / Erika Johansen / The second book completely changed the course and I was a bit confused to be honest. I think I still liked it, but I’m still reading the third book so I think that’s a sign that the series lost me along the way.
Turtles All the Way Down / John Green / For the life of me, Green’s books don’t connect with me, and I always end up almost loving them. There’s always something missing, and a little off center.
By Your Side / Kasie West / I tried to lighten my reading month a bit with a YA romance, but I ended up disliking it. Very promising premise, yet the plot kind of built further away from it and that’s when I lost interest.
NOVEMBER
Dear Aaron / Mariana Zapata / It’s not a lie that I really enjoy Zapata’s writing but Dear Aaron is one of my least favourite books of hers. Half the book is just letters, and it took me so much energy to push myself past them and then it felt rushed afterwards.
Behind Closed Doors / Sherri Hayes / I continued with an adult romance novel that was also disappointing. My reason? Instalove.
Red Zone / Sherri Hayes / Better than the first book, but still not anything special. But the set up for the third book was brilliant, and I really feel like I need to continue with it this year.
On the Fence / Kasie West / The reason I continue picking up West’s books is because most of the time she doesn’t disappoint. On the Fence was a slow burn wonder that was exciting and an enjoyable read from start to finish.
Saint Anything / Sarah Dessen / There is something about books that I click with sometimes and with Saint Anything character setting that just works for me. I liked it a lo.
DECEMBER
The Summer I Turned Pretty / Jenny Han / Since I had only read Han’s To All the Boys series (which I love to bits!) I figured I’ll read her first series as well. Turns out, I don’t like it and won’t be continuing with it because I did not like the main character at all.
Without Merit / Colleen Hoover / Hoover is a hit and miss author for me, and this time it was unfortunately a miss. The plot of this book was so promising, the beginning was so great, and then it just became a mush and way too crowded with problems. It was a mess.
Roomies / Christina Lauren / Again, a fake relationship plot that almost works but ends up being disappointing by the end. so many of these books have me in the beginning and then I loose interest somewhere in the middle, that’s what happened with Roomies. Still a decent read though.
The Distance Between Us / Kasie West / Is it me, or am I slightly obsessed with West books? I have read quite many of them already and I always like them. Don’t love them all, but man, I still like them. The characters are likeable, there’s an almost plausible central issue, and it is sweet.
Eliza and Her Monsters / Fransesca Zappia / Another 2017 hyped book that I ended up not liking. It’s becoming a theme. What bothered me with this book was the fact that the comic our main character was creating was far more interesting than the actual plot of the book. And it sort of dulled the whole experience for me.
Kissing Tolstoy / Penny Reid / After the last not so successful Reid book, I picked up Kissing Tolstoy and was far more impressed! What a weird, yet funny and exciting book! But also, if you’re not into older guys and younger women getting together, you won’t be interested in this. Though, I think the book does a wonderful job at blurring the lines and yet, pointing them out as well.
The Way to Game the Walk of Shame / Jenn P. Nguyen / I feel like the title of this book is the best representation to have ended my 2017 reading year. The end was rough, and shameful, considering how I was literally reading just to have read something. All in all, The Way to Game the Walk of Shame was actually funny, cure and that fake relationship plot always gets me!
There you have it, my 2017 reading wrap up! Next Friday, find out how I did with my first monthly TBR list!
Wow you had a great reading year!! Will definitely be checking some of the books you loved 😉
Looking back, I think I could have done better in terms of choosing the books I read but I’m content. This year I’ll try to read a little bit more variety though! 😀
Been wanting to read The Night Circus but just never get tempted enough to start it…from your post it sounds like it is very different and requires the right mood…hmmm…I’ll give it a go sometime.
For me, it was a little hard to get into but once I did, it was alright. I didn’t end up loving it as much as I thought I would though.
Ok…cool, I’ll keep that in mind…to get into it. A pity you didn’t enjoy it as much as you’d hoped – the blurb makes it sound so promising.
Oh man you had a great year for books! I don’t think I could ever get to 70 in a year. The only one I read from your list was It, which I also read for the first time last year. That book was a beast. lol
That was a huge challenge for me, and I have a few huge ones I plan to read this year as well! Hope I don’t fail! 😛
Great round up! I recently reread The Night Circus – goodness, I love that book. So good. You convinced me to buy Dark Matter, been wondering which Crouch book to read next.
For me it was the first Crouch book, and if you end up finishing it, and it’s not the best, do let me know which one is your favourite! 😀
The Night Circus is a favourite of mine.